Have you ever felt like your knitting energy has been just plain off? You are itching to knit, yet for some, inexplicable reason none of your projects are cooperating?
That has been my weekend.
First, and most dramatically, it was Peter's sock. I made some progress during the sock class on Saturday, but then the shop got crazy busy and I lost track of it. By the end of the day, I located the half-finished sock, scooped it into a project bag and headed home. Only to find this:
A tangle of yarn and only three needles. Not the five needles that came in the pretty tin, not even the four that I needed to actually knit the sock. Three. Three, useless needles. Granted, I could have switched to other size 2 needles in my collection, but they are all at least 7" long and I've been spoiled by the 5" sock needles. I love them. I love how they fit in my hand. I love how they don't try to stab me. So, I stuffed that project back into the bag to wait until I can get new needles.
I moved on to Alec's sweater. Unfortunately, I only had a couple rows to knit and I was done. This is usually a cause for celebration (especially since the sweater fit!) but I wanted some serious knitting to do. All this project requires now is seaming. And I don't feel like seaming.
My Rogue is in the same position - waiting for a burst of finishing energy.
But my fingers wanted to knit, not seam or weave in ends. I do have my lace I could work on. It is beautiful. But I fear picking it up when I am tired. Those little stitches and yarn overs are far too easy to drop.
All-in-all, it was a very unsatisfying knitting weekend. But, I have discovered the perfect person to visit when such stress is ruling your life.
Mara. Mara is a brilliant massage therapist. Many friends have been encouraging me for years to treat myself to a massage. I've always waved them off with the excuse that I don't have the time. Then, Mara, who knits, walked into the shop, when I was having one of THOSE days. Her office is the next building over from the shop so I asked her when her next appointment was and could I have it?
Now I know what everyone has been talking about. I can't remember ever feeling that relaxed! I had so much energy for the rest of the day it was incredible. (Mara did note that I seemed to have a lot of tension in my shoulders. I believe she called them "mom shoulders." Yeah. That sounds about right. Ever since, I've been trying to focus on relaxing my shoulders. This is especially hard to do when chasing a four year old down the driveway so he doesn't kill himself in traffic. I may be stuck with the mom shoulders for awhile. With a little luck, and Mara's help, perhaps they won't be a permanent condition.
Others have been much more successful with their knitting lately. Dale recently visited while wearing a pair of socks out of Spunky Skinny Socks. She couldn't say enough good things about the yarn and how much she enjoys working with it and wearing it!
Wendy went all out to recharge her knitting energy. I believe she drove over 5 hours to see the Yarn Harlot in Atlanta. As a reward, she got to hold the traveling sock! Congrats Wendy!
For me, it's back to searching for the perfect knitting project... I know it is around here somewhere.